Method of storing and recovering peat



Patented Mar. 25 1952 UNITED STATES *oFFice Frederick E. Pierce,Hanovefi-N. i

This invention relates to the storing and recovering from storage of,peat, such as a sphagnum moss or wood or sedge'type's of peat, and hasfor an object to provide a method by which the peat in condition forimmediate marketing may be stored in an expeditious manner and at muchless cost than by methods heretofore employed. This invention alsoincludes the peat storage.

Heretofore it has been customary to cut out or scoop the wet peat inblocks which have been dried out in the air and sun for weeks or months,either on racks, or in piles or chimneys so constructed as to permitfree circulation of air. When dried to marketable moisture percentage ofabout 25 to 35%, the blocks have been stored for protection againstrain. In Germany and Holland the usual method is to make huge piles ofthe blocks with well matched walls on four sides and a more or lessmatched block roof of the same material. Rain or snow wets the outerleaves of blocks two to four blocks deep, and when the peat is requiredfor marketing, the pile is opened and most of that inside of the wetoutside layers may be milled and baled. In other parts of the world thedried blocks have been stored in open sided sheds. Both of these methodsentail large labor cost, and when sheds are used, they have to be soextensive as to involve high building cost as well.

For a complete understanding of this invention, reference may be had tothe accompanying somewhat diagrammatic drawings illustrating the stepsof the method and in which Figure l is a side elevation partly brokenaway of a mound or pile of dried comminuted peat showing its surfacebeing sprayed.

Figure Zis a fragmentary view to a larger scale showing a portion of theouter protective shell and the underlying material.

Figure 3 is a view illustrating the manner of removing material from thepile for marketing.

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the manner in which the outershell is broken up so that it may be conditioned for marketing.

The method of this invention is applied to peat in sufficiently dry andcomminuted condition for immedate baling or otherwise packaging forcommercial use and sale, regardless of the methods employed to reducethe peat to such condition, whether by reducing dried blocks of peat, orby removal from the peat deposit in relatively dry and in more or lesscomminuted condition, or by other convenient process.

, In accordance with the method of this invenequally good results.

r ason it mm- 4,1947, strata-a ate a cades; (Cl. Zia-@1552 nonthe'comminuted and' dried peat is" piled out of doorsand usuallydirectly on the ground, either in conesliagped piles .oi inwindrows',such a pile I; being shown in Fi ures" 1. and 3] As soon as the pile) orwindrow' is formed. it is. sprayed with water, a hose nozzle 2' beingillustrated in Figure 1 from which issues the jet of water 3 forspraying the pile or windrow. If desired there may be added to the watera small amount, say, 1 to 2% of a water-miscible oil. The spraying issufficient to permeate the outer surface of the pile or Windrow to adepth of say, two inches. This acts only as a rapidly forming protectionagainst penetration of rain, but also as a binder against the action ofwind. From time to time as the sun dries the surface and the pilesettles noticeably, the spraying may be repeated until a definite crust4 is found to have formed at its surface. This encrustation may beexpedited, when desired, by rolling the surface. The piles thus formedand treated may be allowed to stand without further attention forextended periods, as, for example, over the winter, the peat within thepile up to within an inch or so of the crust being unaffected by rain,snow, or wind, and remaining in condition for immediate packaging andmarketing whenever desired. This material may be removed from the pileby introducing a pipe 8 (Figure 3) into the pile through the crust 4 andapplying suction to its outer end as by the suction blower I0. As theinterior of the pile is thus removed, the outer more or less damp or wetcrust or shell 4 collapses into a more or less broken mass 12 as isshown in Figure 4, and this may then be broken up and sufficientlypulverized as by the use of a tooth harrow M. This allows the sun andair to reach it and after a time to dry out to merchantable condition sothat it may be packaged for shipment and use.

When a water-miscible oil is employed, the heavier the oil the less maybe employed for The oil has the efiect of increasing the resistance ofthe pile to the entrance of water and strengthens the cohesiveness ofthe surface crust against the effect of wind andstorms, though the useof water alone has been found to give satisfactory results. An oil foundentirely satisfactory for the purpose is an emulsified oil put out bythe Standard Oil Company of New Jersey under the name Essotex. Theimperviousness of the crust may also be enhanced by the use of very finepeat particles such as peat dust on the outer surface of the mound orwindrow.

From the foregoing description of the method,

it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications might be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention.

I claim:

1. The method of storing comminuted and commercially dry peat, whichcomprises piling the peat out of doors, intermittently sprinkling theexposed surface of the pile with water containin from about 1% to 2% ofa water-miscible oil and allowing the surface to dry between theintermittent sprinklings repeated until the peat at said surface forms aprotective crust over the remainder of the peat in the pile.

2. The method of storing and recovering comminuted and commercially drypeat, which comprises piling the peat out of doors, intermittentlysprinkling the exposed surface of the pile with water and. from 1% to 2%of a water-miscible oil and allowing the surface todry between theintermittent sprinklings, repeated until the peat at said surface formsa protective crust over the remainder of the peat in the pile, and atthe termination of the desired period of storage removing the peat frombeneath the crust, and finally drying and pulverizing the dried crust.

3. The method of preparing a substantially waterproof covering whichcomprises forming said covering of comminuted peat and intermittentlysprinkling said covering with water containing 1% to 2% of awater-miscible oil and allowing the covering to dry between saidintermittent sprinkling until a protective crust has been formed.

FREDERICK E. PIERCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

3. THE METHOD OF PREPARING A SUBSTANTIALLY WATERPROOF COVERING WHICHCOMPRISES FORMING SAID COVERING OF COMMINUTED PEAT AND INTERMITTENTLYSPRINKLING SAID COVERING WITH WATER CONTAINING 1% TO 2% OF AWATER-MISCIBLE OIL AND ALLOWING THE COVERING TO DRY BETWEEN SAIDINTERMITTENT SPRINKLING UNTIL A PROTECTIVE CRUST HAS BEEN FORMED.